Author(s)

Jonathan R. Raush^1*, Kenneth Ritter¹, Matthew Prilliman¹, Myles Hebert¹, Zhao Pan², Terrence L. Chambers¹

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, USA.
²Deparment of Mechanical Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, USA.

A simplified numerical model of a small-scale (25 - 100 kWe) parabolic concentrating solar power (CSP) plant is presented that can be utilized during the planning stages for a CSP plant, utilizing only simplified information that would be available at the preliminary stages of a project. This is important because existing models currently used for planning purposes, such as the System Advisor Model (SAM) from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), do not cover small-scale CSP plants. The model can be used to predict real-time performance, or it can be used with TMY data to estimate annual performance. The model was validated using performance data from an operating small-scale CSP power plant, which is a unique contribution of this work. The results showed that the model correlated well with actual operating measurements for all seasons of the year, and provided a useful tool for planning of future small-scale CSP plants.

Solar Thermal, Modeling, Validation, Organic Rankine Cycle, Parabolic Trough

Raush, J. , Ritter, K. , Prilliman, M. , Hebert, M. , Pan, Z. and Chambers, T. (2018) Numerical Model and Performance Validation of a Small-Scale Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Plant in Louisiana. Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, 6, 112-140. doi: 10.4236/jpee.2018.69011.